Jailed in The UAE for Posting Parody Video

A court in the United Arab Emirates handed jail sentences to a group of people who posted a parody video on YouTube – that was considered a threat to national security and said to have hurt the country’s image.

U.S. citizen Shezanne Cassim and two Indians were given one-year prison sentences by the Abu Dhabi-based State Security Court and a 10,000 dirhams ($2724) fine under a 2012 Emirati cybercrime law, according to local newspaper The National. Two local men received eight-month sentences, while three other people were given jail time in absentia.

The defendants posted a 20-minute video in October last year on YouTube entitled “Ultimate Combat System: The Deadly Satwa Gs”, which has attracted more than a quarter million views. It is a mock documentary about a fictional martial art school in a Dubai neighborhood where fighters are trained in various forms of combat, including throwing sandals at a newspaper.

The video opens with a warning that it is fictional and that “no offence was intended to the people of Satwa and UAE”.

The U.A.E. authorities clearly didn’t see it that way and arrested the filmmakers in April in connection with the video. Since the men were imprisoned, a website was set up with updates on Mr. Cassim’s ordeal while U.S. comedians and politicians also rallied behind the business consultant.

For the seven-member U.A.E., such cases and the attention they generate abroad aren’t compatible with the image of moderation it is seen actively promoting. Dubai, the emirate with global ambitions, especially is keen on presenting itself as an oasis of safety in a region shaken by rapid political changes and as an attractive business and tourism center welcoming to overseas investors and workers. But it risks undoing some of that carefully-crafted image work as is evident from the public outcry cases like Mr. Cassim’s spark.

“These young filmmakers are suffering the consequences of authorities who are increasingly sensitive to any form of criticism, no matter how mild,” said London-based Rori Donaghy, director at the Emirates Centre for Human Rights. “This case has laid bare problems with due legal process and restrictive Internet laws in the UAE,” he said in a statement.